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Painful sounds When the brain becomes a pain amplifier
Everyone feels different sounds. Road traffic will be a city boy much less disturbing than someone who lives in a quiet side street in the village. Basically, the sensitivity is different for each person. With increasing age, however, the danger increases that the ear is already damaged and thus more vulnerable to diseases due to noise. Even those who are stressed are sensitive to noises. This can lead to noise hypersensitivity.
In the so-called hyperacusis, the hypersensitivity to noise, even everyday noises are perceived as unpleasant. "In audiometric examinations by the ENT doctor or hearing care professional, hyperacusis is a significantly reduced discomfort threshold (UBS)," explains ENT specialist Dr. med. Uso Walter from the HNOnet NRW, an association of established ENT doctors. "So the test tones with 50 or 60 dB - this is normal conversation volume or a quiet radio - experienced as unpleasant."
Stress in the workplace can be a big psychological burden. Experts explain that women are particularly vulnerable to stress in the workplace. (Image: Kaspars Grinvalds / fotolia.com) However, the hearing itself is not damaged in most patients with hyperacusis. The error lies rather in the neurological processing of the sounds in the brain. As with an amplifier that is set incorrectly, in the central acoustic processing unimportant noise is no longer suppressed, but passed unfiltered or even amplified. Although causes are not fully understood, the phenomenon often occurs with acoustic overload or stress. Those affected quickly find themselves in a negative spiral: noise causes stress to those affected, stress increases sensitivity to noise and this triggers even more stress reactions.
- 80 decibels correspond to loud speech or a telephone ringing. Sensory cells survive without damage for up to eight hours a day.
- 88 decibels reaches an arterial road, a jackhammer seven meters away or a door slam. Hair cells survive only four hours a day.
- 94 decibels the damage already sets in after one hour. Incidentally, 94 dB corresponds to a normally set MP3 player
- A decibel, rock concert or power saw develops 105 decibels. Auditory cells can withstand them only five minutes without losses.
To escape the vicious circle of stress and noise, the walk to the ENT doctor is inevitable. The therapy of the noise hypersensitivity consists of a hearing training, in which the affected person is confronted with pleasant noises of increasing volume. This activates the suppression mechanisms in the area of central hearing processing, and over time, even unpleasant noises become bearable. Conversely, a conscious isolation of acoustic stimuli increases the noise hypersensitivity more and more. Any silence should therefore be avoided. "A hearing training almost always leads to a quick improvement of the symptoms", emphasizes Dr. med. Walter. "After two months, 90 percent of those affected are free of complaints again."
Noise damages the ear
Continuous noise or acute noise peaks can lead to direct damage to the hair cells in the inner ear and thus to temporary hearing loss. Normally, the cells recover in the breaks and sufferers hear after a few hours normal again. But if ears are permanently exposed to noise and get no rest, the hair cells die off. Since they are nerve cells that can not regrow, they are then irrevocably lost.